Charlie Adam has claimed that England left it 18 months too late to call up
his Stoke City team-mate Ryan Shawcross, who has been given a new six-year
contract at the club.

The centre-back had to wait until this month before making his international debut against Sweden.

England manager Roy Hodgson would have hoped that Shawcross’s call-up would appease the Stoke camp, who have complained that their players are unfairly overlooked. Hodgson had a spat with Peter Crouch when he left the Stoke City striker out of the Euro 2012 squad.

“His call-up to the England squad is thoroughly deserved, probably 18 months late,” said Adam, the Scotland midfielder. “Hopefully, he can get a number of caps. We’ve got Robert Huth, who’s played a number of times for Germany, Geoff Cameron who has played for America and Asmir Begovic who plays for Bosnia.”

Goalkeeper Begovic’s future remains on the agenda with interest from Liverpool, who were also targeting defender Marc Wilson before his injury, but Shawcross’s deal shows that Stoke remain a club on the up. One man who is keen to join the action is striker Michael Owen, who did running training in the stands before this match as he looked to regain fitness.

Breaking into this Stoke side will be a challenge for Owen as Adam, in a deeper role behind the lone striker, has started linking well with Crouch. The former England striker teed up Adam for the goal here, winning a header that allowed the midfielder to pounce, turn and finish.

Fulham manager Martin Jol felt his side were “bullied” by their opponents and that his players should have had more help from referee Michael Oliver, a point that Berbatov made in a long conversation with the official during the first half.

“Sometimes you hope for a bit more protection from the referee,” said Jol, who clearly felt Stoke complained too much to the officials.

“It is nothing to do with being tough or good in the air,” he said. “They have got a lot of size. Even Charlie Adam looks bigger. They look like a rugby team.”

Stoke manager Tony Pulis gave those views short shrift, saying: “They can say what they want. I don’t give a damn about the whole thing.

“I really do think we have played better this year than at any time in our history in the Premier League.”

Pulis’s views on Shawcross, meanwhile, raised eyebrows. “He’s a big softie at times, which frustrates me.” Pulis was, presumably, joking. But, with Stoke, one can never be certain.